DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z August 25, 2023
SMOKE: Canada/US Northwest, Great Plains and Southeast/Pacific Ocean... Wildfire activity remains high in western Canada including central and southeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and southern Northwest Territories, in addition to northwestern California. High smoke concentration was observed closer to the wildfires, with moderate smoke extending out over central-southern British Columbia, most of Alberta, central-southern Northwest Territories, southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, western Ontario, and western Washington and Oregon. Light smoke in turn could be observed over most of Canada and northern US, while stretching south along the Great Plains where it mixed with remnant smoke from prescribed burning covering most of the southeastern US. Light smoke also extended over parts of the Pacific off the coast of British Columbia down to California. A separate plume likely consisting of a mix of urban pollution and remnant smoke from seasonal fires in Mexico was also spotted over the Pacific south of Baja California. WS THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE, TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE SOURCE FIRE IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE: JPEG map: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/currenthms.jpg Smoke data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Smoke_Polygons Fire data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Fire_Points ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO: SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov